Of the total costs involved with livestock production, feed costs are the most significant. Accordingly, maximizing feeding efficiency and productive output are of the utmost importance to the livestock industry.
Different techniques have been utilized in order to improve feeding efficiency and/or productive output in animals including the use of various feed additives. Examples of feed additive techniques can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,571 (Blagdon et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,596 (Smith et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,327 (Cummins). However, many feed additives are insufficiently beneficial.
Accordingly, a need exists for methods and compositions that will improve feeding characteristics such as feeding efficiency and/or productive output in animals.